Be It Human or Mermaid
by BrambleChasing
Summary: A modern retelling of the Little Mermaid. Pretty much follows the story, but I threw in some crafty changes. Tell me what you think-first fic.
1. Chapter 1

_**Ariel and Eric belong to Hans Christian Anderson and the Disney Screenwriters.**_

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* * *

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_Ariel swam with the current, allowing the storm winds to lead her along with the boat. __It would capsize, any moment, she knew. And when it did, she'd save who she could. Her father's words meant nothing. Be it a human or mermaid, she was not one to stand by and watch as they hopelessly die._

_----_

Aboard his father's sail boat, Eric pulled fiercely at ropes and pulled at knotted ties. He was not going to let the boat capsize. Not if he could help it.

"James! James, grab that rope!" Eric yelled at his cousin who stood at the Captain's wheel, holding it so tight his figures looked as ghostly as his face. When he heard Eric's yell, he gave him a blank stare as if he didn't hear him correctly.

"There! Grab that rope!" Eric repeated.

After another shocked second, James left the wheel and ran as quickly as the slippery deck would allow him to and took hold of the rope opposite Eric's.

"Pull on three!" Eric called over the wind. On James' nod, Eric counted, "One…two…thr-"

----

_Ariel watched as the boat leaned too far on its left side and its weight dragged it under. Sails snapped, loose objects bobbed to the top of the water as the heavier ones dropped further under until they couldn't be seen. Ariel shot forward when she saw a figure of a human pushing towards the surface. He wrapped his arms tightly around a floating plank. _

_Ariel broke to the surface of the water, only to feel the hard patter of rain against her face. She shielded her face and began to swim for the human. When she reached him, he was looking fiercely around himself, calling out something._

"_Eric! ERIC!" _

_He was just a small boy, his face too young to hold so much horror. When he saw her, his eyes widened, "Eric!" then they narrowed, "You...who-!"_

"_Was there another?" Ariel interrupted. "Another human aboard."_

_The boat was in complete pieces now, thrown into a large group of rocks._

_The boy watched her, confused of where she came from. _

"_Hurry! Tell me!" Ariel begged._

"_Eric." He finally said, looking at Ariel with panicked eyes. "My cousin, Eric! He was with me on the boat."_

_Ariel nodded. "I will find your cousin. Float to those rocks," She pointed to a smaller bluff by a strip of land, away from the worst of the storm, "and stay there. The storm is calming, you will be safe. I will bring your Eric to you."__  
The boy's chin wobbled, but he nodded, and began to kick his feet to the rocks._

_Ariel dove back into the sea and into the wreckage of the boat. She searched thoroughly, around, over, and inside broken slivers that were only moments ago that beautiful sail boat._

_The other human was no where to be seen._

_Ariel began to swim lower._ **Maybe he's further down,**_ she thought._ **Maybe he's already begun to sink!**

"_Eric!" She yelled, the name unfamiliar but desperate on her tongue._

_She was nearly surrounded in the darkness of the oceans depths when a quick flash of something caught her eye. _

_A rope was attached, on one end, to the heavy end of a broken sail. And on the other end was Eric. His arm was wrapped around the rope, his body motionless as he was dragged further under. Soon the darkness swallowed him._

_Ariel didn't remember swimming after him, but she did remember the flash of his necklace leading her, like Hansel and Gretel's bread crumbs in that small story novel Skully had brought her from land. _

_She felt him before she saw him. And though she was relieved, it scared Ariel that her eyes had not adjusted to the sea's depth yet._

_Blindly, Ariel reached for the rope's grip on Eric's arm. She pulled with all her might, but there was no budge. The weight of the sail falling was too heavy. Ariel was amazed that Eric's arm hadn't broken off. _

_Knowing she only had one more option, Ariel closed her eyes and held on to Eric tightly. _

"_Please." She whispered to the sea. "Let me save him. _Please_. Your princess begs you."_

_The flow of the water changed._

_When Ariel allowed her eyes back open, she could see through the dark water. They were still floating along swiftly, but in the opposite direction. The sea became lighter, warmer. The rope around Eric's arm was still there, but it had been torn and now was dragged along after them. _

_Ariel smiled and blessed the sea for her gift. _

_As they came closer to the surface, the sea slowed and Ariel began to swim, toeing Eric along with an arm around his waist._

"_Almost there, human. Hold on. You're cousin is waiting."_

_----_

Eric was floating somewhere between Neverland and over the rainbow. He was sure his dream's had never seemed so vibrant. So colorful. But this had to be a dream. There was a city below him that shined in the sunlight, every color imaginable bouncing from its windows. Each color was alive and floating along with him like he was in the middle of a color load in the washing machine. Fish with fins the span of an eagle's wing swam around him, laughing and flicking their fins at him. He laughed, too, and the fish began to sing.

He had no idea how long he floated there listening to the music, but he didn't want to leave. Didn't want it to stop.

It was so sweet, beautiful in a way he'd never known. He felt his breath leave him, but wasn't in the frame of mind to care.

Eventually, the song died.

"NO!" Eric tried to say, but there was no air.

He gagged.

Salt. Salt water.

It burned his throat, stung at his eyes.

"No." he said, weaker this time.

"Eric?" Someone said. Did he know that voice? "You're alright, Eric. It's me, James. Wake up."

"James." Eric sighed. James was waiting.

----

"_Is he-e gonna be o-_hic_-kay?" James asked, his hiccups causing his voice to break and the salt making his eyes water._

"_Yes, I think so. He's breathing…" Ariel watched as Eric's chest heaved, then let her gaze drift up to his parted lips, past is closed eyes, and to his dark, dark hair. It was so black, the color of the depths she saved him from. The wind blew it into his face and Ariel slowly lifted her hand and shifted the hair away from his eyes. She wondered what color they were, but knew she wouldn't stay long enough to find out._

_He was…very handsome. For a human._

_From all her father's stories, she assumed all humans were horrid in and out. She should've known better, of course. Every portrait and picture book she has in her hidden cavern shows humans in beauty. Glorious clothing in color's only seen in the more exotic reefs. Although she's always stuck up her nose at her sisters shrieking of human stories, Ariel would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit scared._

_But how could these humans hurt anyone? _

_James, the cousin, the little boy, had thrown his arms around Ariel the moment she emerged to the bluffs with Eric, completely ignoring her fin until they had Eric safely on the beach._

"_You're -_hic_- a mermaid." He said now. Not as a question, since it was quite obvious. _

_Ariel nodded anyways. "My name is Ariel."_

"_Ariel the mermaid." James whispered, then frowned. "Eric will never believe-_hic_-me."_

"_Not many would, I think."_

"_No…My mom used to tell me-_hic_-stories...not bad ones. She said all merpeople where pretty. You're pretty…"_

"_Oh. Thank you." Ariel said, and James blushed._

" _I used to want to be a mermaid. Can I be one?"_

_Ariel gaped. "NO!" She all but screamed, scaring the hiccups out of James. "Why? Why would you ever want to be a mermaid when you can be human?"_

_Frowning, James shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno. Thought it'd be cool to swim all the time."_

_"It most certainly is not, i assure you." Ariel huffed. _

_"Oh..." James let the matter drop. __" By the way, where are we?"_

"_Umm…" Ariel took a look around, tested the wind, then the water. James made a weird face and Ariel laughed quietly. "It's how I figure directions, the sea and wind help beautifully. We're in…Port Hanes? Is that what you call it?"_

"_Oh, yeah. We're not too far from Eric's house.__ A couple miles south." He looked down at Eric then. "Are you gonna stay until he wakes up?" He asked Ariel._

"_No, I should go back now." She answered." My father will be looking for me."_

_James nodded. "You'll be in trouble, wont you Ariel? For helping us.__"_

_Ariel watched James closely. He was very bright, this little human boy. It should've unnerved her that he could read her so easily, but it didn't upset her in the least. She'd known him all but fifteen minutes and yet she trusted him as if he were her kind. _

_She smiled a small, sad smile. "Yes, I'm afraid so." When he looked like he might cry, Ariel put a hand on his cheek. He did not flinch away like she expected. "I do not regret it, saving you. Now be strong for your cousin, James. Your family is searching for you already, but he'll need you when he wakes up."_

_James let his cheek rest in her palm. "Thanks, Miss Ariel. I will never forget you, even if Eric doesn't believe me about you. Will you forget me?"_

_Ariel shook her head. "Not even if they try to make me." She said fiercely. _

"_He's waking up now." James said, and Ariel watched as Eric began to shift. _

_Leaning down, she brushed her lips across his forehead, then across James'. _

_Without meaning to, Ariel began to sing. It was a her favorite, a sweet song her mother would sing about a sailor who fell in love with the sea. _

_----_

James watched Ariel push herself into the ocean and drift further out into the calming waves, her voice soft a sweet and more beautiful than anything James had ever heard. She kept singing until she was too far away for him to hear. When it died, James felt Eric heave.

"No." Eric said, faintly, water dripping from his mouth onto the sand.

"Eric." James said, lifting Eric's head into his small lap as he coughed out more water. "You're alright. It's me, James. Wake up."

"James." Eric said, relaxing immediately. Slowly, he sat up. His head was throbbing, his eyes and throat stung. And his arm! Man, it hurt! It must've been pulled out of socket, nearly broken! He unwrapped a torn piece of rope from around his wrist. He remembered now the blinding pain that stabbed through him when the sail snapped and threw him overboard with it. He must've passed out from it.

Truthfully, He didn't even want to know what happened. The important thing was James was safe. Battered, but safe.

"Oh, God, James. I'm so sorry!" Eric threw his good arm around his cousin, still managing a bear hug. "I was stupid."

James held Eric tightly. "No way. It wasn't your fault."

"How can you say that? It was. Totally my fault. God, you could've been killed! I could've killed you! This was-"

"Shut up, Eric. Just be quiet. I'm fine. No one died!"

Slowly, Eric breathed, holding on to James still, just not so desperately. "You're right. We're okay…Everything's…okay."

With a little balancing help from James, Eric stood up and surveyed the damage. Well…that wasn't okay. What was left of the sail boat was nothing but wood planks and a few floaters: ice cooler, life jackets, a hat…things like that. It was a disaster.

"How are we going to get home? I have no idea where we are." Eric said hopelessly.

"No problemo." James picked up a stick and began to draw in the sand. "Ariel said people were already searching. They're not far. We're outside of Port Hanes."

Eric watched as James drew a figure into the sand. "Ari-Who? And how can you tell where we are?" He asked, looking for a landmark.

James added long, long curly hair to his figure, then moved on the make her fin. "She's the girl who saved you. She swam down and brought you back up. And then she asked the sea and wind where we were."

He was drawing a mermaid, Eric realized. Since when did he read fairy tales? He's nearly nine, baseball and hot rod car age. "The wind and sea, huh?"  
James didn't answer. He added swirls in the mermaid's tail and gave her a small smile with dimples. Where was he getting this?

"Where is…what's her name, now?"

"Ariel." James repeated as he wrote the name above the mermaid drawing's head. "She had to leave. She's going to be in a lot of trouble for saving you."

Eric's eye brows drew together. "Why?"

"She had to ask the water for help. I guess that means her…people know that she used it to help us so they're gonna be mad."

"_Her people_?"

James sighed, threw down his stick, then finally looked back at Eric. "You're not going to believe me, I know, but I'll tell you anyways. A mermaid rescued you. A pretty, totally real mermaid promised me she'd find you and she did. She had long curly hair like a red-yellowy color and she had pretty silver eyes like my dog Pogo did, except hers had little purple flake things in them that was cool and her tail was green and blue and gold like hazel eyes, kinda like yours, and she sang really, really pretty, too, and she was real and I don't care if you call me a crazy, stupid kid because I'm not, and I'm not a liar!"

His face had turned red and his chest heaved in and out from all the run on sentences, but Eric barely registered.

A mermaid? He was…telling him that a mermaid with red-yellow hair and dog eyes and a hazel fin had fished him out of the water using her fish powers and, with those same powers found out where they were? And that she was in deep sea trouble because of saving him? Now Eric knew James wasn't a liar, but this…was too much.

"Jamie, man, that sounds-"

"CRAZY! I know. But deal with it, because you were knocked out, so it's my word against yours!" And with that, he threw himself to the ground and picked back up his stick.

"James, d-"

"Be quiet, I'm concentrating." James pouted.

Eric rolled his eyes and sat a few feet away from where James lay, drawing a smaller, James looking figure holding the Ariel mermaids hand. Shaking his head, Eric turned towards the mainland. Or, what he hoped the direction on the mainland would be. He really did hope they were near Port Hanes, though he had no idea how James could possibly know that. And he did pray that his dad and mom where looking for them, that they were close. Eric looked to the sun, already beginning its dive into the horizon. Maybe he should make a fire, though he didn't know how easy it would be with one dinky arm. It wouldn't hurt to try though. It would get cold as soon as it got dark…and a fire will attract whoever's looking for them. Eric glanced over his shoulder at Jamie. James hated the dark, though he'd never admit it. Eric's mom had to sing him to sleep, most of the time. He loved one of her songs, the same one she would sing to Eric when he was-

"Wait…did you say she sang?" Eric asked, suddenly remembering James' earlier words. "The mermaid, Ariel. She sang to you while she was here?"

Sighing, James answered, "Yes. She sunged a-"

"She sang." Eric corrected automatically.

"She _sang_ a really pretty song when she was leaving. I think it was to calm us down…or wake you up. As soon as she stopped, you started coughin' and stuff and that's when you woke up."

Eric tried to rub the ache from his head.

Oh. _Ohhh…_  
His freaky dream. The one he was in right before he woke up. All the colors, the fish, and the music.

That song…what was that song? It was the last thing he recalled before seeing Jamie. The song dying.

It couldn't have…no way it-

Over by his sand sketch, James began to hum.

God, it was…it was the same song.

"No. Freaking. Way…" Eric said.

"Hey! You know what Aunt Hannah said! That 'F' word is just as bad as the real one!"

But Eric wasn't paying any attention. "That song you're humming, that was her song? Before she left? That was it?"

James nodded. "Yeah. I knew you heard it. You calmed down like, right when she started singing, then _freaked_ when she stopped."

"This is insane."

"Yeah. Don't mean it's not true, though!"

Eric slid over by James and his drawing, careful with his arm. "You…I can't believe I'm saying this." He took a deep breath. "Jamie, do you promise you're telling me the truth? Swear to it. Because I'm starting to…God, I'm starting to believe you."

James lifted his hand and crossed his finger twice over his chest, right above his heart. "She was real. Super, duper real."


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay so, i'm not sure what happened. When I 'thought' I put this up, it was a while back when we had a snow day and the power kept shutting off. I guess it messed up? Anywho, I had written that I knew this was super short and I was super sorry, buuut the power kept going out ^^ so i just posted what I already had saved. I reckon I forgot to put it up as a second chapter? I dunno. But here you go :) more asap-promise!**

**-Bramble**

_

* * *

__"How dare you disobey me?! **Deliberately** no less!"_

_King Triton sat stiff on his throne, back arched, eyes hardened, and his temper boiling. His daughter, blessed with the sea's highest ranking beauty, mirrored his posture from the middle of the throne room, her nose upturned just as princesses should and her silver eyes colder than the Artic Ocean. To any naïve onlooker she would've seemed just as furious, just as stubborn as the Sea King did. But to those who knew Ariel, truly, deeply knew her, they would notice the nervous way she flicked her tail as her father yelled at her._

_Ariel was afraid of her father's temper. It had damaged many castle rooms in the past. The throne room need not be another. Ariel had no desire to have the towers fall onto her. Now on her father…that she wouldn't mind. He was being hideously infuriating._

_"Daddy, I explained that-"_

_"Don't you DADDY me! Young lady you have crossed. The. Line!"_

_"But-"_

_"ENOUGH!"_

_"DA-"_

_"NO!"_

_Ariel notched her chin an inch higher. "You're not being reasonable."_

_It didn't seem possible, but Triton's face reddened more, his veins pulsed at his neck. "Seeing as I am king, being reasonable is not something I have to take into consideration, is it now? Especially when it comes to you, my dear, who, until this moment, I had neither heard the word reasonable drip from your mouth nor show in your actions."_

_"How anyone could be reasonable with you, I cannot begin to fathom!"_

_"That is quite enough, Ariel." Sebastian snapped from his perching spot next to the king. For a crab so tiny, he was almost as infuriating as Triton, in Ariel's opinion. He'd been her…mentor…since as long as she could remember. And it was getting old. Ariel didn't need a mentor, a teacher, or a mother figure anymore, especially from a cranky old crab! She was nearing eighteen. Basically an adult! And, still, she was treated as a child. Sebastian thought Ariel's fixation on humans was improper, inappropriate. Her father was just scared. Human's were the one thing he could not control in his water's. He might be the King, but the Sea had a mind of her own. "I get that you are…disenchanted by your life in the sea. Do I understand it? No. But I get it. You want something you can't have, just as any child your age does-"_

_"I am not a child." Ariel murmured._

_"However," Sebastian continued, "The way you're speaking to your father is inexcusable. I know I've taught you respect far better than what you are showing. Now, apologize to your father so we can…"_

_But Ariel wasn't listening. Something she can't have? Now, Ariel might be a princess and had, without a doubt, had her own temper tantrums and pitched her share of fits, but she had saved someone! A life, possibly two! Who knows what could've happened to James if he'd been left alone. Yet the only thing Sebastian and Triton could see was that she deliberately broke the surface and shown herself to humans. So what? Like James had said, it wasn't like anyone would believe him anyways._

_Thinking that, Ariel felt a pang in her chest. Eric would never believe in her._

_Something she can't have?_

_They were talking as if she had planned to be human, as if she was looking to be them. That was ridiculous! As if that could happen…as if she could actually turn human._

_It sounded too good to be true._

_Only magic could do something that drastic. Dark magic, the kind she'd only heard stories from. Ones people told with eyes wide and voiced frightened._

_Dark magic from a witch. A sea witch._

_**Yes,** A voice hissed from the depths of Ariel's thoughts. **My dear, lovely princess. You poor, poor unfortunate soul. I can help you.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Ugh. Blah. This is short too. I know..ridiculous. I'm trying! more ASAP**

**-Bramble**

Eric stood in his shower, the water hot enough to redden his skin but not enough to scold pouring down over his back. With one hand on the shower wall, he held his gimpy one on the other side of the curtain, away from the shower's spray.

It had been three day's since the accident but the adrenaline hadn't calmed. Every night he had the same vibrant dream: him floating above a large city with colorful fish, singing him deeper and deeper into sleep. Then he relived the crash, when the boat flipped and he was pulled under. Only then would he wake up, his heart racing and sun already high in the sky. He would wake exhausted, the dreams way too rushed and busy for his body to rest. Eric's parents would let him sleep as long as he wanted, but he didn't like sleeping. The more he did, the more tired he got. It was ridiculous.

Sighing, Eric shut off the water, the steam keeping him warm as he let the water drip away from him.

God, he was so _sick_ of being tired. Nothing helped, not showers, coffee…how long was this supposed to last?

Stepping carefully out of the tub and, after a couple of fails, managing to wrap a towel around his waist, Eric unlocked both adjoining doors before stepping into his and heading over to the dresser. While he pulled out some jeans, underwear, and a t-shirt, James opened the door joining his room to the bathroom.

"Are you dressed yet?" He asked.

"Not yet, but I got a towel on." Eric answered, stifling a yawn. "What's up?"

James shuffled into the room, his own jeans and a t-shirt on but his hair still tousled and eyes red.

"You ok?" Eric asked, pulling up his boxers under the towel.

James nodded, yawning at the same time. "Just…tired."

"You too, huh? Having weird dreams?"

Another nod. "Bunch of colors. And Fish. And singing."

"Sounds familiar. Man, what did that mermaid do to us?"

James frowned. "She didn't do anything. Just sang."

"Yeah well, that song must have had a spell or something in it, 'cause I've slept more than I've ever slept in my life but feel none of it."

"I don't think Ariel would put a spell on us, Eric."

"Well you don't know Ariel. She's a stranger. A freaking mythical one. She shouldn't even exist." Eric grumbled, throwing the towel into the hamper in the corner then shoving on his jeans.

"She saved you!" James nearly yelled. "How can you say that?"

"James…" Eric sighed. "I'm not…_ungrateful_ that the mermaid saved me. But you can't blame me for being skeptical, especially with this crap going on in our heads and the lack of sleep making me cranky as hell-heck! Cranky as heck."

"Her name's Ariel."

"Whatever." Eric said under his breath as he lifted the shirt over his head and pulled it down.

"James! Eric! Lunch is ready!" Eric's mom yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

James shuffled toward the door. "I'm thinking about going back to the beach tomorrow...You wanna go?"

Eric froze. He hadn't thought of going back. Of all the things he'd thought about the past three day's, he never thought of it. He loved the beach, it was his life. What about surf team? Jet skiing? Or his summer job doing tours of the reefs? Man, he was supposed to start working next week. What If he couldn't get back in?

"Eric?" James whispered his hand on the door handle. "If you can't it's ok. I'm scared too."

"No." Eric said weakly, then cleared his throat and tried again. "No, no it's ok. We'll go. Tomorrow. First thing."

* * *

_"Ariel! You can't go to that side of the reefs! It's off limits, you know that! Ursula is-"_

_"I know what I'm doing Flounder!" Ariel snapped at her fishy friend, not bothering to turn around. She kept swimming around the reef, taking the directions offered from that background voice in her head._

_She should be terrified of it. It's not natural to hear voices in one's head, she knew, but she was so furious at Sebastian and her father that she refused to listen to anything, not flounder, not Skully…not even her own conscience. No, she knew what she wanted._

_And it was exactly what the voice was promising her._

_"Ariieeeel! Pleaseeee! It's getting spooky now-"_

_"Then go back! Gash, Flounder, don't be such a guppy."_

_"I'm not a guppy." He mumbled, flowing half-heartedly behind her._

_Ariel shook her head as her mind swam back to the earlier conversation with her father and Sebastian. The Sea king had actually taken the crabs advice! He'd punished Ariel from anything and everything she'd ever loved in the Golden Castle. Then he'd gone and refused to allow her to leave the castle, ever, without his attendance. No more music, no more races, nothing! She could no longer explore freely. She always had to be supervised. It was a miracle she managed to sneak out tonight. It had been three day's since they'd punished her, and the security had already worn down. Not a lot, but Ariel was very crafty._

_She was positive Sebastian would check up on her soon and find her gone. But by that time, she'd have gotten what the sea witch was promising her._

_Hopefully._

_After another couple of minutes maneuvering around the reefs, Ariel began to feel the spookiness Flounder kept yapping on about. It was eerie, the silence chilling. She almost wished she would've listened to her conscience. Almost. But she was so close now._

_"No backing down." She said to herself, but loud enough for Flounder to hear. _

_"Oh God, oh God oh God! Poseidon if you're out there, please PLEASE saveme from this insanity! Give me current! Please, please pleaseeee...."_

_Ariel shook her head. Poseiden had better things to do that listen to a guppies prayers. She was in it now. No turning back._

_By the time the sun touched the horizon....She would be human._


	4. Chapter 4

It took Eric nearly all freaking day to actually _get out_ of the car and step onto the sand, but once the water reached out and brushed against the tip of his toes… he was as home as ever. It was the first time in three day's he felt any sense of peace and it poured into his body, like it had been waiting patiently this whole time, lingering there until he went back to the sea.

Eric took a deep breath then laughed. It was amazing how great he felt…totally amazing.

"Finally! I've been waiting forever. Don't you feel _freaking_ great?!" James said, bounding through the water to where Eric was standing, basking in his own, quiet warmth.

"James, don't say freaking…" Eric said, again, as a reflex, and James rolled his eyes.

"You say it all the time. But it doesn't matter. Just tell me-doesn't the water feel absolutely, positutely amazing?!"

"Yeah…"Eric sighed, then shook his head. "It's too-"

"Peaceful right?" James interrupted. "It's like all this time we've been _dying_ of lack of sleep, and all Ariel wanted was for us to come back for her! I was looking, while you were hiding in the car-"

"I wasn't hiding-"

"-and I think she might actually be close! I think she's going to come and see us!" James finished, eyes sparkling and smile wider than the ocean.

Eric smiled back, even though his mind still couldn't get around the fact that James was talking about a _mermaid_. But Jamie hadn't been as excited about anything since…well since back before his parents had died last year. After the accident, seven months had passed, filled with tiresome nights and long days of trying to get Jamie comfortable in a house with family he barley knew in a state he'd never visited, before he finally stopped crying at night. Eleven months of Eric's mom interrogating the crap out of James until he finally told her all his favorite meals and snacks and movies and television shows and video games. A year had passed before Eric finally talked Jamie into doing anything with him…and then he'd gone and gotten him in a boat crash. But instead of being terrified, as any other kid would, James became infatuated with a mythical sea person that made him happier than ever and, by some way that still confused the hell out of Eric, managed to get Eric to believe in her, too.

Ri-freaking-diculous.

"I'm going to walk further down, maybe she's waiting away from the road's 'cause she's scared." James said, already pivoting towards the left

"Maybe. Let's check it out." Eric said, deciding that it couldn't hurt.

Jamie's face lit up like a fireworks display as he said, "I'll beat'cha there!" And he took off like the hot rod car's he should be infatuated with.

* * *

_Ursula, the sea witch, didn't live in a darkened cave, nor did she live in a cavern, a sunken ship, a deep and dreary pit, or an abandoned burial ground. No…none of the incredibly frightening stories the old mermen had told were right about Ursula's abode. _

_What Ariel found when she made it over to the dark side of the reefs was horribly worse than any tale she had heard._

_Ursula lived in a sea monster._

_In it!_

_Mind you, it was dead, gone for quite a while it looked since all that was left was it's skeleton and shards of torn skin, but still. A sea monster!_

_The head was gone, and it wasn't until Ariel got closer that she realized the witch must have used the bones of the face to shape her lair. A dim light was pulsing behind its makeshift walls, in rhythm with the voice that had grown louder in Ariel's head._

_**Yeeessss,**__ it hissed, __**so close…So close, your dreams are…So…close…**_

_Ariel's fin moved on it's own accord now, and Ariel barely registered the movement. She was transfixed on that pulsing light _

_The moment she had swept through the monsters colossal rib cage and down it's fierce fin, the voice stopped, taking away the hypnotizing rhythm with it. Fear cursed through Ariel as she saw her surroundings truly for the first time._

"_Oh…Poseidon." She breathed._

_Merpeople. Men and women, thousands of them, watched her with eyes lost. But they weren't exactly…people? They had faces and figures as fins, yes, but they were tiny, much smaller than Ariel though they were clearly adults. They swayed with the sea weed as they watched her with mouths curved down in permanent frowns and skin wrinkled like wind on water. These poor people! Her own kind!_

_"Now, now, dear, don't cry for them. They got what they asked for."_

_Ariel's head snapped towards the smoky voice. In the opening of the lair was the most exquisitely horrid thing Ariel had ever seen. Ursula had tentacles. Many of them, inky black and thick…long enough that Ariel easily imagined them wrapping around a humpback and strangling it. She wore her tentacles like a skirt, ending high on her waist to mingle with the fabric that stretched tight across her, erm…voluptuous chest. Her neck was thick and her chin was actually 'chins' counting in at at least three. And her face could be described as nothing if not menacing. Her eyes glowed purple and were narrowed as she scrutinized Ariel, her bright red lips twisted in a sly, dangerous smile. Black eyebrows arched too high on the witches forehead and clashed with the thin white of her hair. _

_"Well…you sure are a beauty, aren't you princess? What could a lovely thing like you possibly be without?"_

_**This was a bad, bad idea.**__ Ariel thought. __**Oh I should have taken my own advice and swam away when I forced Flounder to!**_

"_I…" Ariel started, then cleared her throat. "You beckoned me here. You bewitched me. Why?"_

_Her eyes flashed. "It wasn't my bewitching that brought you here, princess. It was your own obsession. As soon as you started to want Magic, it called out to you. It hears your deepest desires. Your safest kept secrets. It knows every one. Magic adores to be wanted and loves to be used. It exists in everyone, holding back inside until it finds their desires and latches onto them, making you hopeless to refuse!" _

_Ariel swallowed and willed her heart beat to slow. "What happened to those merpeople? Why are they hollow and wrinkled. What have they done to deserve such a thing?"_

_Ursula laughed lightly, the sound husky and cenacle. "Those poor souls where the ones with desires bigger than their paychecks. I gave them what they wanted, only to have them fail to give me what I wanted. A bargain is a bargain, and everything has a price, princess." _

_The sea witch moved then, floating backwards into her lair. "Come now. Let's talk."_

"_I don't w-"_

"_Of course you do. Magic wouldn't have brought you if you didn't want it. Just hear me out princess. Come."_

_Because Ariel felt she'd be strangled with a tentacle if she didn't, she followed. _

_The lair was dim and filled with shadows. It was, in almost every way, exactly what a lair should look like and obtain. Bottles and trinkets cluttered every shelf and flat surface and parchment was strewn among the top of most of them, scribbled writings with large foreign words and sketches of plants illustrating while charts organized. Against one wall sat a curved throne made of shells and more bones. And directly in front of it was a cauldron, recently used, with wisps of colored waves floating from it. As Ariel examined every detail of the room, Ursula took her place at her throne. _

"_So, though you're beautiful and wealthy and 100% princess, you still managed to find something you cant have? Fabulous. I was just like you. Let me guess…you father just doesn't understand? He's pushy, wont listen, unreasonable, and just down right infuriating? He's punished you recently because you broke a silly rule…again most likely. So…because Magic knew you were clever, it had you sneak out. I can feel your Magic. It's begging to be used and knows you quite well."_

_Ariel didn't understand her 'Magic' at all. She didn't even know it was there. But Ursula recited her problems without so much of a blink._

"_At first I didn't believe it, the magic I mean. But now that I see you, it does make since. You want to be human. To breath air and feel the ground beneath you. To do all the things in the silly human stories you love. To fall in love…"_

_Ariel's eyes had gotten huge. Everything Ursula just said…it poked at the tender spots of her heart. How could her Magic know what she wanted before she even did? _

"_Hah!" Ursula laughed. "Isn't this rich? A mermaid princess, in love with a __**human**__!"_

"_How…But I-"_

"_Don't ask questions, princess. It wont make you feel any better. Now…let's negotiate, shall we?"_

_Ariel thought hopelessly,__** What have I gotten myself into?**_

* * *

**:D**

**hehe**

**left**ya**hangin'**

**hoped you enjoyed it! more asap**

**-bramble**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter was hard, hard, hard to write. :/**

**I tried to make it flow as best as I could so, hopefully ya'll will enjoy it. :)**

**let**me**know! Forreals, be honest.**

**-Bramble**

* * *

"_So, we already know what you want. Now let's talk about _me_." Ursula said as she reached into a broken crate, pulled out a shrimp, and popped it into her mouth._

_Ariel cringed. The poor thing had been _alive_! Of course, Ariel would never have eaten a shrimp had it been dead, that's horrible enough, but to eat one alive? She thought she might be sick from thinking about it._

_"You're a princess, so there's bound to be many things I would just _adore _to gain from you. But deciding what to choose…that is going to be difficult indeed."_

_"I have nothing on me that obtains any value. No jewels or trinkets or-"_

_Ariel was interrupted by the witch's laughter. "Oh, I do not wish for your jewels or even your trinkets, princess. Those objects would mean nothing out here. What could I possibly to with them? No, what I want is much more…personal."_

_Ariel scowled. "Personal. How so?"_

_"Well let's see. I could take your beauty. That would be nice, considering I haven't been able to go and get my own plants for potions in some time. I can't actually saunter into a township looking as I do, you understand? ...Ah, but I'm quite capable of forming my own temporary beauty spell when it's necessary. Oh! How about your......"_

_As Ursula pondered over her options, Ariel began to feel positively sick. The witch was talking about taking parts of her! Things that made her who she was. Her hair, her eyes. She studied her from top to bottom, too thoroughly for comfort. Ariel found herself looking for a dark shadow to hide in._

_"What of your talents princess?"_

_Ariel squeaked, "Pardon?"_

_"Your talents? You must have one. All royalty do. I've heard of your sisters, you know? They all have splendid talents. Not surprising, seeing who your parents are."_

_When Ariel said nothing, Ursula sighed. "Don't make this difficult. I won't be satisfied until I know. Just tell me. Who knows, I might be disappointed and decide to take your beauty. Now spit it out."_

_Nothing._

_"Are you clever with words? A poet like your sister Andrina? Or maybe a scholar like Attina? What about an athlete such as your father?" Ursula considered, then shook her head. "No, I can see you're much more…artistic. You take after your mother, do you not?" Ursula nodded to herself. "Yes, I remember. You mother was musical."_

_Though Ariel must have tried desperately to cloak it, Ursula caught the hardening of the princess's eyes and the nervous twitch of her fin. _

Ahh...So that's it, _Ursula thought._A voice. Peeerfect.

_Ariel noticed how the witched eyes suddenly brightened and felt the bottom of her stomach drop. "No." She said quietly and grasped her throat._

_"Yeesss…" Ursula hissed, the purple of her eyes painful to look at. "Absolutely perfect."_

* * *

"Come on Jamie. It's late. We got to get going."

James gave a small, sad sigh and dropped his head. "I don't understand. I was so sure. I _knew _she was going to be here. I felt it."

"Maybe she was? Or is. Maybe she's scared, too, like we were. She could just need time." Eric wondered to himself, even as he spoke, if he was giving Jamie false hope. But this was a heck of a lot better than James being upset like before. He needed something magical to hold onto right now. So, if he had to, Eric could handle coming back to the beach every day until Jamie got over the mermaid deal and abandoned it. It wasn't a sacrifice, not with the water making him feel as great as it did. "We'll come back tomorrow. First thing if you want."

"Okay. Thanks, Eric."

Eric put his arm around his cousin's shoulder and squeezed, steering him towards the car.

The peaceful feelings dripped away from the both of them as they walked away, leaving the sea further and further behind them.

* * *

_Ariel watched helplessly as Ursula began to break bottles and throw their contents into the cauldron, flinching as each new ingredient caused a loud "POP" and brilliant flashes of light blinded her. All the while, Ursula recited a peculiar poem, the language bizarre. _

_Ariel wanted to swim away desperately._

_But she knew there were things lurking in the depths of the shadows, daring her to try and escape, waiting for Ursula to five the order to attack._

_"Ha! Yessss. This is it. It's ready." Ursula said, clapping her hands together and giggling madly. _

_"Why do you want my voice?" Ariel heard herself ask. "What could you possibly need it for? How could it help you here?" She gestured to her surroundings. What good was a voice in the middle of a deceased monster?_

_Another husky laugh. "Have you no imagination, princess? I can think of endless possibilities. Endless."_

_Ursula came to Ariel then, her tentacles following in a long train behind her. "Are you ready?"_

_Ariel swallowed, her throat closing in as if it knew what it was about to lose and refusing to hand it over. "I…I-"_

_"Think of the humans, Ariel. The ones you've met. How about the ones you haven't? Think of all the mundane things you've always wanted to do but were so, so far out of your reach. I'm giving all of that to you. Everything! You're voice isn't important on land. They take their words for granted, in fact. And look at your looks. Your pretty face! Boy's don't care about words-what's important in body language!" Ursula hooted, wiggling her hips as her tentacles danced around her.__  
Ariel frowned._

_"Oh, don't you fret, princess." Ursula said after the laughing died. "It'll come naturally when you see him. They boy you're in love with. You'll know what to do. Believe me, if anything he'll thank his God that you can't talk."_

How strange_, Ariel thought, still frowning._ _There, obviously, were many things about humans she yet to have learned. The couples in her books laughed and talked quite a lot. _

_"What about my family? My father? My sisters? I'll never see them again." Ariel said, her heart aching. How could she come here, knowing what would end up happening, and not say goodbye?_

_"Oh, poo." Ursula waved her hand through the water. "What about them? Your father treats you like a child. He never takes you seriously. And your sisters? I bet they disrespect you because you're the youngest and say you and your opinions don't matter. What kind of princess should have to put up with that cruelty?"_

_Ariel found herself getting angry at the memory of her family. Soon the pain in her chest eased. _

I bet they wouldn't even miss me, _she thought_. Father would only be upset because I disobeyed him. They wouldn't care otherwise.

_As if Ursula sensed Ariel's uncertainty beginning to lean in her favor, she snapped her fingers together quickly and a long piece of parchment appeared in her hand. She pushed it into Ariel's face. Scribbled words filled the page, but Ariel couldn't read it. _

_Ursula translated. "It says you have three weeks, princess, to get your human to fall madly in love with you. Three weeks, and if your prince charming hasn't kissed you, you will turn back into a sad little mermaid." _And, you will belong to **me.** _Ursula added in her head. But the poor little princess didn't have to know that._

_"Three weeks?" Ariel said, feeling sick again. "That's impossible!"_

_"Hah! Impossible? You should be relived, Hun. It used to be three _days_. Now here."_

_Ursula shoved a pen into Ariel's hand and pointed to the line at the bottom of the contract._

_"Sign it, princess. You know what you want." Ursula purred. Or at least she tried to purr. It sounded more like a gargle. _

_Ariel's hand shook._

_"I can't-"_

_But apparently she could. Her hand inched towards the paper of its own accord and Ariel watched dismally as her fingers moved and her signature formed._

_Her named sealed in one quick flash, then the parchment vanished._

_"Yes!" Ursula roared, then pushed a shell into Ariel's face, where the contract had been just a moment before. "Now SING!" _

_Again, as if her body had a mind of its own, her throat opened and she began to sing. She started low, as her throat fought against itself, but the volume quickly heightened and Ariel knew that the sea witch had to be using her magic to get it out of her._

_Afterwards, Ariel couldn't remember what she sang, if it was something happy, or sweet, or maybe something sad. Whatever it had been, though, it had lifted her up and made absolutely everything in this dark cave and the problems back in the Golden Castle seem totally foolish._

_It lasted but only a minute…then it was gone, ripped from her throat, making an instant empty feeling in her heart. _

_And __Ariel hated herself for giving up her talent and not even recalling how she had used it, or what she had confessed in it._

_And she knew that, for however long she was going to be without it, be it the next three weeks or the rest of her life, she would always regret that mistake, out of all her others._

_Ariel heard a menacing chuckle and looked up._

_Around her neck, the witch now wore a faded piece of string and hung on its end was the shell, glowing with Ariel's unknown song. _

_"Yes." Ursula said, her eyes purple flames. "I believe we have ourselves a bargain."_

_Ariel flinched._

_The witch's mouth had moved, but the husky manner of her voice was gone._

_"Hah, strange isn't it?" Ariel heard her voice say, coming from Ursula's mouth. "I'm going to have to fix me up a nice, young body to go with your voice, princess." Ariel heard herself giggle, but, again, Ursula had spoken. "Now…time for you."_

_Something stabbed at Ariel's fin and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. The water instantly pushed its way down her throat and Ariel began to choke. She looked for Ursula, afraid to move but willing to beg for help. But the witch was no where to be found. Ariel blinked as her eyes began to burn, the salt making them blur._

_The foreign sensations made her panic, but couldn't stop her reflexes. _

_Obviously, she can't breathe through water anymore, but her body still needs air. Before she even realizes it, she's shoving herself away from the lair and shooting upward towards the water's surface, refusing to let this kill her._

* * *

"Eric…are you sure this is the best way to go about it?" Hannah Grady asked, watching as her son packed for another day at the beach. "It's just…the accident was four days ago, hunny, and…Jamie is-"

"Jamie is fine, mom. He's the one who asked to go. He likes going. It makes him feel better." Eric said, pushing a couple of Debbie Cakes and a bottle of Gatorade in his backpack. He turned to his mother and offered her a small smile. "I know it's all still fresh, mom, and I hate that you're scared. But this is what James wants…So I'll go, and I'll take care of him. I'm as paranoid as you are about not letting him out of my sight. I promise."  
Hannah sighed, then turned to the refrigerator, disappeared behind the door, then emerged with another Gatorade. "It's not just Jamie I was worried about." She said pointedly, putting the bottle into the already stuffed back pack and zipping it up. "Ya'll go on now."

"Thanks mom." Eric said, leaning forwards and smacking a loud kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. Love you, too."

Eric pushed himself away from the corner and to the back door. Before he disappeared through it, Hannah said. "Oh, and Eric?...I hope you find whatever it is your looking for."

_Not freaking likely. _Eric thought, stepping into the early morning sun and wishing that maybe his mother's hope wasn't completely hopeless.

* * *

_Ariel's first thought was that she was warm._

_The second was that she was __**breathing**__._

_With some effort, she managed to open her eyes and glare at the sun._

_Nine thirty…mid-morning. _

_Ugh, she felt awful. Her throat and eyes still burned from the salt. Her head pounded with an ache she'd never before experienced._

_And her fin! Ah, it desperately hurt!_

_Slowly, Ariel sat up and nearly cried when she saw that, indeed, her fin was still there._

That cheating witch!_ Ariel thought, cursing Ursula. _She took my voice and my ability to see and breathe underwater, but left me with a damned fin!

_The sand made her mad. She wanted to feel it between her toes! She wanted to run through it. She didn't want it there, teasing her as she blubbered over a stupid mistake._

_Rubbing fiercely at the scales, Ariel sobbed, wishing desperately that they would just disappear. As she rubbed, her fin became warmer, the water dripped away, and soon she was nearly dry. _

_When the last drop of water rolled away, Ariel felt another stab in her fin, not as painful as the one before, but enough to make her flinch. _

_Ariel choked on a sob._

_Her fin began to…dissolve. _

_It was leaving!_

_Right in front of her, Ariel's tail melted away into wisps of colored films that lifted into the air and disappeared. After the tail, the rest of the fin left, leaving in it's place two- Ariel choked again, this time on a squeal- LEGS!_

_She had legs!_

_Poseidon knows how long she marveled over them, running her hands along her calves and thighs, digging her toes into the grains of sand. _

_Oh, it was better than she'd ever imagined!_

_The sea witch hadn't lied, hadn't cheated. _

_She'd given her the best gift she'd ever received!_


	6. Chapter 6

"Can't this thing go over 35 miles per hour?" James asked, jumping up and down on the passenger side of Eric's Cherokee, his seat chirping beneath him.

"We'll be there in a few minutes, chill." Eric said, shifting his sore arm to lay over the console.

"No, I can't chill. We lost precious time when you stopped to get gas. We need to get to the beach now, as in _right now_."

"You would be walking to the beach now, as in _right now_, if I hadn't stopped for gas, Jamie. Now will you please stop? That chirping is like a nail driving into my brain."

James stopped immediately. "You still got a bad headache?"

Eric nodded. "It's the dreams I think. I wake up with one pretty much every morning."

"Oh…" James said, then smiled wide. "We'll be at the beach soon, and then the water will make you feel better, right?"

"Right." Eric sighed. Yeah, that still didn't make any sense to him. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the relief.

"You know what would make it go away quicker? If we got to the beach quicker. And you know how to get to the beach quicker? If you pushed a little harder on that peddle there." He pointed to Eric's foot. "I think this thing can at least go fifty without dying."

"Why are so anxious?"

"Dunno." Jamie shrugged. "Got that feeling."

Mhm. And it was probably the same 'that feeling' he'd been having a lot lately.

A few minutes later, Eric smiled at sight of the bay just ahead, merging with the water of the ocean a couple of miles south.

His father owned a small boat house here, isolated from the beach homes and condos. Attached to the boat house was a little apartment, enough room for a mini fridge, sink, and futon. There was an outhouse for restroom services, but the shower stall was on the outside, a flimsy, ten-year-old curtain and rod providing the only privacy. His dad had actually lived in it through college, until he'd met Eric's mom and moved into town, where grocery stores are just down the street and not a twenty minutes drive away.

Eric used the boat house now as a meeting place and hangout for his surf team. And, of course…it** used** to house a beautiful sail boat.

As soon as Eric pulled his Jeep onto the small drive way, Jamie had his seat belt off and his hand on the door handle. When Eric stopped the car, Jamie's door was thrown opened and a second later slammed shut, leaving Eric to watch as James sprinted towards the water and dove straight in, not even bothering to lose his shirt or flip-flops.

Eric tossed his keys into his back pack, threw it over his shoulder and jogged after him. Setting down his things on the small porch and stripping of his shirt and shoes, Eric ran the rest of the way to the water.

Like yesterday, he found home in the first touch of sea against his legs. He dove in, letting it take him over, and smiled into the water.

For a long time he just floated, on his back with the early morning sun rising from the east. Jamie swam around him, underneath him, tickling his feet then scurrying away when Eric jerked as if to grab him.

Then Jamie started to hum that mermaid song, and Eric made himself sit up, afraid of falling into his dream. "I'm gonna get a snack. You want something?"

"Sure, but then can we walk the beach for a while?"

"Yeah, why not."

"Cool. You better have packed some Debbie Cakes." Jamie said, following Eric to the edge of the water.

Quickly, Eric ran to his back pack, grabbed it up, and carried it back to shore where James waited. They ate with their feet out in front of them, just in reach of the water.

Man, Eric felt like he could sit here forever. It astonished him, still, how great it made him feel just to have the salt water linger on him in droplets dripping from his hair. He might never get used to it, but he wasn't gonna run away from it either.

"Don't 'cha love how it's like, nine something in the morning and we're eating Little Debbie's?" Jamie said, his mouth full. "My mom would've tanned by butt if she saw me now…"

A Gatorade bottle frozen half way to his mouth, Eric looked over at James and watched as a small smile formed on his face…not a sad one, just…remembering. It was the first time Eric had heard James mention his mom since he'd been living with them. It was a step, a small one, but a step all the same.

"Yeah," Eric took a sip then smiled, too. "Mom has a soft spot for Debbie Cakes. She said it's all she ate when she was pregnant with me. Well, that and Jalapeno peppers."

James grimaced. "Eww. Not together, though, right?"

Eric laughed.

"That's disgusting. No wonder you turned out so weird."

"Hey, now." Eric said, shoving James' shoulder. "Don't talk to me about weird, mermaid boy."

"Oh yeah! Ariel." James jumped up, shoving his wrapper into the back pack and pulling Eric up. He grunted with the effort. "We gotta go look for Ariel. Come oooon. We're wasting daylight."

"It's like, almost ten in the morning, Jambo. We have a ton of-"

But Jamie was already off.

* * *

_Ariel was still among the rocks on the shoreline where she woke, marveling at her new legs when a familiar fish popped up out of the water._

_"Ariel!" _

_"Flounder!" Ariel mouthed, struggling to get to her feet-FEET!-and falling back onto her knee's. She frowned down at her legs. _

_What if the witch gave her broken legs? They didn't hurt, necessarily, but she couldn't stand._

_"Ariel…oh, man, Ariel I saw the whole thing! I hid…I was hiding and saw the witch-Man she was scary! How could you talk to her? And she took your voice! Oh, Ariel! What are we going to do?" Flounder went on, and on. "You have three weeks! That's insane. How will we ever pull it off?....."_

_Ariel found herself seriously regretting the loss of her voice at that moment. Flounder was her best friend, and she adored their friendship, but the only way to get him to shut up was to snap at him. Which is exactly what she would do now, under different circumstances._

_"Then I ran into Sebastian and he was so mad! And I was all 'Whoa!' But he followed me anyways! He's coming now! I tried to get rid of him but he's right behind me-"_

_"__**Sebastian**__!" Ariel mouthed, then groaned to herself. Oh, of course. She knew he would find her missing soon enough. But his lecturing was really the very last thing she needed right now._

_Flounder gave her a sorry smile. "I know Ariel, I'm so sorry, I tried but-"_

_Sebastian washed up then, scurrying up to Ariel and looking very, very red for even a crab. "Look at you! On legs. On human legs!" He cried, waving his claws at her. "My nerves are shot! Oh, this is a catastrophe. If her father saw her…what would he say? He'd say he'd kill himself a crab, that's what her father'd say!" _

_Once, just once, Ariel would like to get an actual greeting from Sebastian. Not the constant yelling and claw waving. How did Sebastian expect her to take him seriously? How did he expect her to respect someone who treated her like a child? _

_Only half listening, Ariel tried to get to her feet. But she lost her balance again, falling, this time, into the water by Flounder. She came sputtering back to the surface just as Sebastian was saying, "Oh, I'm going to march straight to the castle right now and explain me self to him-"_

_Ariel shot to her knee's and scooped Sebastian into her hands. She shook her head fiercely, her eye's pleading. _

_"Now don't you shake your head at me! I have a plan now, and we'll follow it. There's time. Maybe the sea witch will give you back your voice, then we can forget this entire thing, this nonsense, and you can go back to be with the fish and merpeople and you'll be…you'll be…" He watched as Ariel's chin wobbled and felt her hands shaking underneath him. Oh, she was about to cry! Sebastian couldn't handle a heart broken princess! "You'll be……miserable for the rest of your life." He ended, exhaustion in his voice. Ariel watched as he shook his head and felt a lift in her heart. "Alright, okay." He sighed. "I'll help you find your human."_

_If Ariel could've squealed, she would have. Instead she pressed her lips to the crab. She couldn't believe it! He'd actually taken her side! He was giving her a chance!_

_"But three weeks! Three weeks and you better have what you came here for. Twenty one days and I'm gone!"_

_Ariel nodded, placing Sebastian on a rock and petting the smiling Flounders head. _

_As he and Sebastian talked, Ariel practiced standing up again, only to be startled when Skully swooped down from the sky and onto her shoulder. She ended up back on her knees._

_"Well look who we have here!" The sea gull said, nipping at Ariel's hair, making her giggle. "Wait, wait there's something different. Did you do something with your hair? Oh, I know, I know! You've been using the Dingle Hopper, right?" Ariel shook her head. "Oh…uhm…well I know it's something, hold on. Uhh…new sea shells?" Another shake. "No? What about-"_

_"Jeezus man, she's got legs! You idiot!" Sebastian said. _

_Skully flew from Ariel's shoulder and landed new to the crab. "That was my next guess."_

_"The sea witch turned her human." Flounder explained, watching as Ariel, yet again, struggled to her feet. "She's got to make a human fall in love with her…and he-he's gotta kiss her!"_

_"And she only has three weeks." Sebastian added, exasperated. _

_Ariel managed to balance herself and straightened her posture slowly. She smiled and clapped her hands when she felt secure and took a step to forward onto the beach. It took her a while, but eventually she was pacing, slowly, yes, but at least she was moving. She hadn't noticed Skully leave, but saw when he came back, an old, ripped fabric grasped in his beak. _

_"Here, princess." He said when he reached her. "You've got to cover yourself if you want to look like a human. Remember the stories I brought you? With the pictures? Yeah, they had legs, but you couldn't see so much of'm. Now, tie this around your chest…"_

_Ariel watched as Skully and Sebastian fought to get the fabric around her, winced at the pulls here and pushes there. Eventually they seemed satisfied, and Ariel looked down at herself._

_They'd made it look somewhat like the clothing the women wore in the stories, but where their dresses where colorful and elegant, hers was stained and torn and ripped. _But decent enough for what it was.

_Sebastian told her to practice walking in the makeshift dress, but it was harder than with just her legs. The fabric twisted around her and she tripped a few times before she got the hang of it. _

_"Oh, boy." She heard Sebastian mumble as she stumbled again. "I have a feeling this is going to be the longest tree weeks of my entire life."_

* * *

Eric and James walked a good two miles down the coast, making it into the rockier shores that reminded Eric of where they waited after the crash. They kept as close as possible to the water, jumping from rocks into the ocean when they felt too far away. It was making them do weird things, the water. Eric would never have let James jump from some of the bigger rocks if he hadn't known exactly how he felt. At first it was just a little pull, a voice in the back of his head asking politely. But the longer they were away, the more fierce the pull got. It was addicting.

Eric was just about to jump into the ocean again when Jamie held his hand up for him to stop. He turned his ear and began to listen intently. "Did you hear that?" He said after a while.

Eric shook his head. "What-"

"SHH!" Jamie jumped to a rock stood on his tip-toes. Another minute or so, then James head swiveled to Eric's. His eyes were wide and a smile lit the corners of his mouth. In the next second he took off, hopping from big rock to big rock, his footing sure and at lightning speed. Eric called out to him, but he didn't stop.

"James! James!" Eric said, trying to keep from twisting his ankle or, worse, breaking it. "Jamie, man, where are you going? What did you hear?"

Jamie stopped then.

Eric hopped the last few rocks and landed on the sand next to him. He looked around but saw nothing. Just taller, wider rocks, hiding the rest of the shore.

"James, what is this about? We're out of beach."

"Listen."

But all Eric could hear was the water breathing, his own breathing, and his heart beat. He strained to listen for something else, but heard nothing.

"J-"

There. Was that splashing? The sea was calm now, not any real waves to make much noise......except for a distant sound of someone playing in water.

"Where is that coming from?" He asked quietly, but the sound still echoed back the massive rocks around him.

James began to move again, his walk slow but sure. When he got one of the bigger rocks in front, he crouched, squeezed behind it and slipped through a small opening. Eric caught his breath when he disappeared, but Jamie popped his head back almost immediately.

"Come on, Eric." He said, smiling again. "I think she's over here."

"What?" Eric hissed. "How do you know? Come on, James, let's go. I don't know what's on that side of the bluff-"

But James had disappeared again.

There were more splashes now, and Eric sighed deeply.

Crap.

He couldn't leave Jamie. He jogged over to the rock, crouched, and squeezed himself to the other side. His shirt snagged on a rock and ripped.

"Man. This is ridiculous." Eric said under his breath, surveying the rip. "I swear, when I see that freaking mermaid I'm going to-"

"ARIEL!"

Eric turned his head at Jamie's squeal and watched as he catapulted himself at a girl, knocking her off balance and sending them both sprawling into the sand.

"James!" Eric yelled, taking off to where they lay. He grabbed the back of James' damp t-shirt and yanked him up onto his feet. "Jamie what the hell?!"

"Sorry." James said, not sounding sorry at all. His smile stretched across his face, threatening to split it in half. When Eric let him go he stepped up to her. "Here, let me help you up, Ariel."

The girl smiled gratefully and extended her arm to him.

Eric watched as she struggled to her feet, and when she lost her balance and almost fell again, he jumped forwards to help maneuver her to a rock. She gave an embarassed simle and placed her arm around his shoulder like she had to Jamie.

"Thank you." She mouthed when she was seated, and Eric stepped back and observed her.

You couldn't look at her without noticing her hair first. It wasn't really a color, not one that Eric knew, anyways. It was blond, but it was red, too. But not just any red, but like, super red. Cherry and Honey. Her eyes came next. It's not everyday you pass someone with gray eyes, but it's not particularly common to see silver eyes either. And hers were suh-ilver. He watched them as they watched him, and Eric nearly choked on his next breath when he realized they he'd known of these features before. Give a hazel colored tail, this chick was exactly how James had described his mermaid.

Eric looked down at the girls legs. Yep, she definitely had those. Though they were mostly covered by some weird dress, it was obvious that she didn't have any mythical extensions. When she moved her dress to cover the rest of her legs, Eric shot his gaze back up to her face. Her cheeks had turned pink and her eyes were turned away from him and to Jamie.

**Man....**Eric thought to himself, pushing his fingers through his already wind blown hair. **What the hell has James gotten me into?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7's finally up. Sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoy-let me know.**

* * *

_Ariel tried to keep up with James' questions._

_Truly she did._

_But it didn't take her long to discover that the boy was much like Flounder, asking millions of questions but not bothering to wait for the answers._

_So after a few long minutes of endless run-on sentences, Ariel found herself just nodding along as her mind effortlessly wondered to the older boy standing just a few feet from her._

_Eric had stepped away as soon as they had her seated on the rocks and has kept quite a distance from her since. He didn't bother to jump in and ask things as his cousin had. Instead he just stood there, scrutinizing her so intently Ariel thought her blush might stain her cheeks permanently._

_He was just as handsome as he had been before, if not more so. His windblown hair slid through his fingers as he shoved his hand through it yet again._

_Was he annoyed at something? Nervous, maybe?_

_She strained to catch a glimpse his eyes from so far away, and sighed deeply when she still couldn't see them clearly. The sun behind him shadowed his face and Ariel found herself agitated that she'd yet to know what color they were when he had been so close to her just moments before. It had nearly taken her breath away to have him so near, his arms around her, yet infuriated her that the sun was on the opposite horizon of where she needed it in order to see properly._

_Would they be blue? She wondered. A deep blue like the sea during a storm. Or as blue as the sky behind him now, creating a devastating contrast with his hair._

_Or perhaps green? Emerald?_

_A deep brown, brooding, dark and mysterious._

_Oh, the options! She needed to know! She hated this incomplete vision of him when he stood not but ten feet from her!_

_Ariel peeked again out of the corner of her eye towards Eric._

_He was looking at her legs again._

_Maybe Sebastian and Skully had arranged the dress wrong? Maybe she looked inappropriate?_

_"Ariiiiel? Are you listening?"_

_Ariel shifted her eyes back to James._

_"Did you hear me?"_

_She shook her head._

_"I asked what the song was. The one you sang that day you saved us before you left."_

_Oh, of course. That __would__ be the one question he wanted answered._

_Putting her hand against her throat, Ariel looked at James and shrugged._

_His expression turned confused._

_She gestured with her hands, showing what she hoped looked like her voice leaving her throat, but James wasn't getting it._

_"She's saying she's mute, Jamie. She can't talk…she can't sing." Eric said dryly._

_Ariel looked over at him. His stance had turned stiff and he pivoted to the left a little, just enough for the sun to illuminate his face._

_Ariel sucked in a breath._

_Oh…his eyes._

_They weren't blue. Nor were they green. Not brown, either. But a charming combination of the three. Hazel eyes had always been so rare for merpeople…as were hazel colored fins. Ariel was a rare case. Her fin had been filled with wonderful blues and greens and gold's._

_But Eric's eyes were extraordinary._

_And right now, as they flashed with something Ariel was in no mind to apprehend as anger, Ariel found herself catching her breath like some lovesick fool._

------

"Oh, what happened Ariel? Why can't you sing anymore?" James asked, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder and watching her with intent in his eyes.

Eric sighed heavily. If he wasn't positive he wasn't dreaming, he would almost find this entire thing hilarious.

_Of course, the mermaid lost her voice_! Eric thought, not holding back the sarcasm. _I should've seen this coming_!

But instead of making Eric laugh, it just pissed him off.

Just seeing Jamie up there with her, giving her the 'goo-goo' eyes and hanging on to her caught a weird spot in Eric's stomach. He was holding on to someone he didn't know. Someone who wasn't going to stick around. They knew nothing about this girl. Nothing except that she may or may not be a freaking mermaid and James was so transfixed on her that he would probably never come off of this cloud he landed them on. And even when Ariel or what ever the hell her name was went back to her "people", James was still gonna be caught in this mermaid crap and Eric was going to be stuck right there with him.

Why, just why couldn't James have gotten hooked on something legit like surfing or basket ball? Things that Eric knew and was good at and could teach him without any doubts? Why couldn't things be easy? Why does Jamie keep getting trapped in these crappy situations?

Instead of voicing his thoughts, he shifted his backpack off his shoulders and rummaged through it until he found something ok to write on and a pen.

"She can't talk, James, she's _mute._" He said, trying to keep his voice calm. He walked towards them, tossing down his pack and holding the paper and pen out to Ariel. "Here, write it down."

The only thing they could do now was get her to explain herself. Otherwise they would be sitting here for hours playing charades.

Hesitantly, Ariel took the objects from him, her eyes never once shifting away from his face. When Eric met her gaze dead on, she blushed deeper, and Eric frowned as he stepped back again. What was with her?

Ariel held then pen up to her face. Her eyebrows drew together and all Eric could think was, _Great, she doesn't know what a freaking pen is. What's next?_

James took the pen and pressed it to the crumpled sheet of paper. "Look, it writes, see?" He said as he wrote his name. "Jamie. That's me."

Ariel smiled wide, taking the pen back in awe. She then placed the tip to the paper right underneath where Jamie wrote his name.

Carefully, she spelled out: B-U-B-B-L-E-S.

-----

_"Bubbles?" James giggled._

_Ariel frowned down at the paper. Why…it did say bubbles. How odd. She wasn't even thinking about bubbles in the least. She had meant to spell her name under James'._

_Giving her head a firm shake, she pressed the pen back down on the paper._

_In her mind, she planned the sentence:_

_"I replaced my voice for these legs with the help of the sea witch."_

_It was straight-forward, to the point, exactly how Ariel liked things._

_But when she looked back down to her paper, she let out a huff of furious breath._

_There, in her handwriting were fourteen words. All annoyingly the same._

_"Bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles bubbles."_

_Oh, Poseidon? __Ariel thought, dropping the pen. __She's taken my ability to write, too!_

_She should have known! Of course Ursula would not allow her to tell people of her curse. She was supposed to make Eric fall in love with her in three weeks without him knowing about her true form._

_"Uh…Ariel?" James said. "Why did you write 'bubbles' over and over?"_

_Ariel looked up to him, her eyes wide and sorry. She shrugged and ran her finger over the words._

_Again she placed the pen down and tried her sentence._

I-

**Bubbles.**

replaced-

**bubbles.**

my voice-

**bubbles bubbles.**

for these legs-

**bubbles bubbles bubbles.**

_UGH!_

_Ariel threw down her pen._

_Every word. Every single word!_

_Bubbles._

_BUBBLES!_

_Did Ursula think it was funny? Oh, she must. How charming, all the former mermaid could write was a silly, stupid, ridiculous word like bubbles!_

_Feeling her chin wobble and tears of rage fill her eyes, Ariel buried her face in her hands._

_How was she supposed to make Eric fall in love with her now?_

_He probably thought her mad!_

-----

She's insane.

Completely mad.

Eric looked down again at the paper he'd given her. Bubbles. Just bubbles written over and over and over.

_Was this a joke?_

He looked up at James.

"Is this a joke?" He asked, pointing to her words.

James stood. "She can't be doing it on purpose, Eric. Look at her-she's upset. It can't be her fault."

She did look upset, hunched over herself with her shoulders shaking. Eric watched as James put a hand on her shoulder. She leaned into him.

Eric wanted to scream.

"Not her fault? Jamie, we watched her! She was writing it, right in front of us."

"Maybe she's bewitched?"

Eric groaned.

-----

_Ariel sat up at the word bewitched._

_Excited, she stood, wobbled on her feet, but managed to stay upright. The boy's looked at her expectantly._

_She pointed at James and nodded._

_James smiled. "See!"_

_"No." Eric said, his eyebrows drawing together._

_"She's saying I'm right! She's bewitched, Eric!" James said, jumping up and down._

_Ariel had to smile._

_"No." Eric said again._

_Ariel's smiled faded._

_"No. This is retarded. I'm not doing this anymore."_

_"But Eric-"_

_"No!" Eric repeated, firmer this time. "No, James. This isn't cool anymore. It's stupid. I'm not gonna stand here while you and mermaid princess here-" He turned to Ariel with a snarl, making he flinch. "tell me this crap. I'm not doing it…"_

_He turned around, picked up his back pack and threw it back over his shoulder. As he walked back to the rocks he said, "So nice meeting you, __Ariel__, but I'm not much for this game you're playing. Good luck with you speech and writing issues but…we've gotta go."_

_Before he disappeared back on the other side, he turned and gave James a stern look. "Let's go, Jamie."_

_"But-"_

_"Jamie."_

_"Eric-"_

_"JAMES!"_

_"FINE!" James turned to Ariel and threw his arms around her. "I'm so sorry Ariel. So sorry."_

_Ariel didn't know what to do._

_She didn't understand his fury, but she imagined it had to do with Jamie. He was scared for his cousin, it seemed. And though Ariel may not understand it, she wasn't going to sit there and add fuel to his fire._

_She unhooked James' arms from around her and squatted down in front of him._

_**Don't cry**_**.** She mouthed. _**Please.**_

"_When we leave, wait half-an-hour then follow us." James whispered. "Go through the way we came, follow the beach until you come to a house. It's a dump but it had a bed and shower and toilet and a T.V. Stay there and I'll come and visit you. I promise. You'll be safe."_

_Ariel wanted to cry. This little boy was trying to protect her. Oh, how did anyone think humans were unkind, she'd never know. She mouthed __thank you __and hugged him to her again, feeling the tears drip down her cheek._

_"See you soon, Ariel." James whispered, and then he was gone._

_And so was her Eric._


	8. Chapter 8

"Eric? Eric, honey, wake up."

Through the sleepy fog that was clouding his brain, Eric grunted at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Up, up, up." She chirped, pushing down on his bed, making him roll forward.

**Really?** Eric thought, flipping over into the crack between his bed and the wall, shielding himself from the torture. **Is she really doing this to me on ****a**_** Sunday**_**?**

"Yeah, that doesn't work." He heard her mumble. "How' bout this?"

And now she was shaking him.

"Go 'way." He grumbled, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Not likely." She laughed, yanking the pillow away from him and whopping him over the head with it.

"Stop terrorizing me."

"You think I'm terrorizing you now? That's funny. Now I'm gonna need you to get up because you've got a visitor and I _will _terrorize you if you don't go see him."

Eric flopped back over onto his back and glared at her.

She gave him a sad smile. "I don't think he's going away this time."

"Ugh."

"Bryson's your best friend, Eric. Don't you think you've avoided him enough? He's been here almost every day since the accident."

Eric sighed, then pushed his hands through is hair. "Mom…I can't answer his questions and I don't want to. I just want things back to normal."

"Well, what do you think you're accomplishing by sleepin' the day away?...Eric, hun, you gotta get out of this house." Hannah sat down on the edge of his bed and placed her hand on his foot. "Especially now that you and Jamie don't go out to the beach anymore…you barely even talk to one another. What's that about?"

Eric shrugged. "Jamie doesn't want to go anymore. All he ever does now is go to the arcade with John Rogan from down the street."

"Well...at least he's making friends." She stood then and made her way to the door. "Now how's about you get dressed and get your but down there and salvage the one friendship _you_ still have. Sound good?"

No…it didn't. But he figured he'd avoided it long enough. It's been almost a week since they'd found Ariel on the beach and Eric hadn't been back since. But Bryson (the only 'friend' Eric apparently had) had been over about every day, sometimes twice a day, begging him to go surfing or play basketball. Eric just wasn't up for it. Even though the thought of surrendering to the water sounded so appealing, he fought it. He didn't want to risk seeing Ariel again and falling deeper into the spell she'd cast over them. He'd already started having dreams of her, for God's sake. The same freaky, wacko dream from before, except now the colors were all cherry gold and silver and purple as she swam around him in circles, her fingertips whispering over him, making him giddy then turning him to butter as she began to sing.

And that was all great and wonderful…except she was mute.

And had legs. Mile long ones wrapped in a strange dress.

She was crazy.  
She was driving _him_ crazy.

But he wasn't going to let it get to him. Jamie had moved on, made a friend.

**Which was freaking weird**_. _Eric thought, his eyebrows drawing together as he sat up in bed and threw the covers off of him. He'd been sure James would have begged him to go back to the beach and had even made up some 'logical' reasons as to why they would not go back. But Jamie just avoided him, never asking for anything or even hinting towards going back to the beach.

Eric slugged over to his dresser and fished out a clean shirt and a pair or basketball shorts. He really did need to get things settled with Bryson, he figured, though it still didn't sound so appealing.

Grabbing his old, ripped Vans from the floor by his hamper, Eric shoved them on as he dragged himself down to the kitchen.

He had just pushed through the swinging door when he was hit in the stomach and tackled to the floor by two hundred pounds of wrestling muscle. He slammed into the ground with a 'Woooff', the breath knocked straight out of him. Before he could even inhale again, he was pinned to the ground in a professional wrestling maneuver, leaving him staring up at Bryson who completed the profile by glaring back down at him.

"Say mercy, Grady." Bryson said.

Not about to be manhandled, Eric twisted until he got an arm free. But Bryson already had him figured out. Eric grunted as he was pinned again, this time with his cheek pressed into the floor and his arms twisted behind his back.

"Mercy?" Bryson asked, and when Eric choked the word out, he patted his face with two hard slaps before finally pulling away. "Smart guy."

Eric rolled back over onto his back, groaning at the bruises he could already feel. Why did he always try and fight back with Bryson? It only left him with more wounds. Eric wasn't exactly small and lanky, but compared to the Bull Dog that was Bryson, he looked and fought like a tea cup Yorkie.

"What the hell was that for, Bryson?" Eric said, holding out his hand.

"That was for dodging me, my brother." Bryson gripped it and hauled Eric to his feet. "Now you know better."

"Yeah." Eric pressed a hand to his back. "God, do you think you could lay off the steroids? I think you cracked a rib."

Bryson snorted. "Steroids are for wimps. I got these puppies the old fashioned way." He held up his arms and flexed.

"Whoa, no guns in the house, Mr. Miller. Put those things away, you're making me look bad." Will Grady said as he walked down the hallway from his home office, an easy grin on his face as he stepped past them and headed into the kitchen.

Bryson let out a hardy laugh as they followed him. "You mean making Eric look bad. I had him pinned in the foyer before you walked down, Mr. Grady. Twice."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound gay at all…" Eric said, leaning against the counter. He watched as his mom flipped a grilled cheese sandwich over on the stove. "Mom, you think, being my mother and all, you would have saved me from almost being shoved through the floor by Hulk Hogan over here. You didn't even warn me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hannah said, placing the hot sandwich on a plate and sliding it on the counter in front of her husband. "Bryson, would you like a grilled cheese?"

"I'd love one, Mrs. Grady, but Eric and I were just heading out to the boat house." Bryson said, and Eric shot him a 'dude, wtf?' look. Bryson just grinned back.

"Really? That's wonderful." She said, casting Eric a knowing expression. "How about I pack you two sandwiches to go? Sound good?"

"Sounds great! Thanks Mrs. Grady." Bryson said, sitting down. "So, Mr. Grady, how's the book coming along?"

Eric sighed and sat down opposite his friend as his dad summarized the most recent scene from his latest series. It was about magic and myths all in the most poetic sense, as all his father's novels were. He'd always been interested in mythical things. So had his Aunt Helen, Jamie's mom. She used to tell stories about fairies and dragons and…mermaids. She would talk of them as if they were real, her eyes bright and face glowing, much like Jamie's when he'd talk about Ariel.

When Eric had his back packed stuffed with sandwiches and Gatorade's and snacks, he and Bryson made their way outside. Eric stopped short before stepping up to his Cherokee. Feeling better by the second about getting away from the house, he looked over at Bryson and smiled.

"You know what…let's take the convertible." He turned and headed to the garage.

"Hell_ yesss_ let's take the convertible." Bryson hooted, running up behind him. "Will your dad let us?"

Eric stuck his head in the kitchen window and yelled to his dad, "We're taking the convertible."

"Sure, but you gotta fill her up, she's low on gas." Mr. Grady said, folding his newspaper and throwing it into the recycle bin in the corner.

"Deal." Eric grinned, backing away.

"Hey, son?" Will called.

Eric stepped back up to the window, "Yeah?"

He gave him a hard stare. "Hurt her, and I'll show you and Bryson both how to really pin someone and make sure they never get back up."

Bryson laughed as they walked away. "You're dad's hilarious."

"And dead serious." Eric said as he keyed in the code to open the garage doors.

They sighed simultaneously when they saw her.

"I cant blame him." Bryson whispered.

Electric blue with white interior, his dad's 1965 Mercury Comet was the most beautiful (non mythical) thing Eric had ever seen.

"Man." Bryson nearly moaned, grazing his hand over the fender. "Can I drive her? Please?"

"No way, my brother."

Bryson scoffed. "Why not? I'm a freaking_ fantastic_ driver."

"I know, but let's just say this is pay back for almost Kung fu Panda-ing me through the floor in my own foyer." Eric carefully opened the driver door and slipped inside.

On the passenger side, Bryson grinned as he slid in and closed the door. "If you think I'm going to apologize, keep dreaming, man. That was a great tackle and you know it."

"Oh, I know. I can still feel it."

Eric flipped down the sun visor and caught the keys as they fell out. When he pushed them in the ignition and twisted, the car turned over with a hiccup, followed by a gorgeous roar , and then balanced out to a low mumble.

And neither one of them could keep the stupid grins off their faces.

* * *

_With wide, unblinking eyes, Ariel watched as a black automobile with the flashing red and blue lights chased after the smaller, more attractive looking red automobile. She sat right in front of the tiny television Jamie had taught her to use, her nose just a few inches from the screen and her eyes following every twist and turn of the pursuit. _

_When the red automobile turned to soon and flipped across the road, hitting two other vehicles as it went, Ariel gasped and sat back, her hand on her heart. The television replayed the scene, slowing the speed. Ariel cringed but was unable to look away. Oh, it was horrible! Devastating. Addicting. _

_As the show ended and names rolled down the screen, Ariel hit the red button on the remote control to turn off television. Sighing, she relaxed into the soft futon._

_It had been nearly a week since she had followed James directions to this little home. At first everything had been new and exciting. The television, the sink running with fresh water, the futon for her to rest her head, the tiny white box lather the soap in her hair to wash it. It was extremely strange, but all the same, it was exciting. _

_Now, however, Ariel found herself growing more and more bored. She hated being trapped in this tiny house. The only time she even dared to go outside was when Jamie was here to make sure she didn't wonder too far down the beach, which had nearly happened a few times. _

_Sebastian had stayed with her at first, but then heard from Flounder that King Triton was losing his head down there with his mentor missing. So Sebastian left, promising to come back once he had Triton's head settled._

_So there Ariel sat, not knowing the first thing to do in this ridiculous situation she put herself in._

_She needed to see Eric. Five days had been wasted! But she was too scared to go and find him, and when she had managed to ask Jamie (there were always comprehending issues) that she needed to see him, he'd frown and avert his gaze._

"_He doesn't believe in you, Ariel. Not like I do." He'd say, then he would hug her and leave. _

_But he had to! He had to believe in her! If only she knew how to get him here…_

_The sound of something outside moving against the rocks hand Ariel jumping to her feet and making her way to the window, her natural grace making the move look effortless, despite her new limbs being but five days old. When she lifted the curtain a tad and looked through the sand scratched window, she sucked in a breath at what she saw. _

_A large blue automobile, moving slowly down the path towards the house. It sparkled in the sunlight, making Ariel blink against the flashes of light. She let the curtain drop and pressed her fingers against her closed eye lids. When she opened them again, she saw red and white dots floating around her. Reaching out a hand she tried to grab one, but her fingers floated through it._

_How-_

_Her thought was disturbed by a loud slamming noise from outside, immediately followed by another. Glancing out the window again, Ariel saw a boy step out of the blue sparkly car. He was very tall and very, very large--muscular like her father. An athlete, obviously. He had extremely short dark hair and a humorous glint in his big blue eyes. His grin was a mischievous twist of his mouth._

_When he turned and said something to the other person, Ariel followed the direction and felt the air woosh out of her._

_Eric. Oh, Eric!_

_Ariel twirled around, placed her hands against the side of her head and thought._

_Ok…alright. Quickly. Calm down. You can do this. _

_She stepped up to the long looking glass hanging on the wall and grimaced at her appearance. _

_She hadn't taken a shower yet today. She normally waited until the sun was dipping and it wasn't so hot. Her hair was a tangled mess!_

_She tugged on the huge, wrinkled shirt Jamie brought her when her 'dress' ripped on day 2. It was a coral orange and had a picture of a man named Kenny Chesney with a weird hat on the front and 'Country Tour 2002' written across the back with names and dates. It was very worn, but it smelled nice, like soap and the ocean, and it made Ariel very comfortable. _

_Ariel pushed her hair back over her shoulders, knowing that there was no time to wash it and no other clothing to substitute for her shirt. _

_Taking a deep breath, she turned and marched towards the door. _

_Before she made it there, she heard footsteps on the porch, heading towards her._

"_Yeah, just let me put these in the mini fridge. I don't want them to melt." Eric's voice said. _

_Ariel froze and watched as the door knob turned, her breath catching. Then the door was pushed open and light flooded the room. Ariel had to shield her eyes against it, it was so bright. _

_Eric didn't see her. He just kept walking, sifting through his back pack, and ran straight into her. She stumbled backwards and Eric lost his footing. _

_Then he fell against her blindly, twisting his body at the last instant to cushion her fall before they tumbled to the floor. _


	9. Chapter 9

**It took me a while to get this up, i know, i know. **

**I'm sorry guys.**

**Tell me what you think.**

**-B**

* * *

Emma Rogan glanced into her rearview mirror and smiled at the vision of her brother, John, and his new friend Jamie competing to see who could make the world's most gruesome facial expression.

From her perspective, they were tied.

Jamie had first shown up about five days ago, shyly asking to join John and Emma as they lay on a quilt in their front yard playing a game of Go Fish. John seemed surprised (the Grady's nephew hadn't exactly tried to be friendly before), but moved over to make room. Two hours and fifteen games of Go Fish later, Jamie and John were giggling and joking like they'd been friends in their cribs, and all Emma could do was sit there and smile. John had always been kind of awkward around other kids, but there was something a little awkward about Jamie, too…so it made a weird kind of sense that they had hit it off so quickly

Since then, Jamie had been over every day and being the fantastic big sister she was, Emma took them into town to get ice cream, to the arcade, and at Jamie's request, to the beach.

His uncle, Will Grady, owned a small boat house near the bay. It was, in most definitions, a dump, but Emma found it charming all the same. Though she hadn't seen the inside…Jamie was very stern about them not going into the house, but the outhouse was accessible.

It was weird how attached Jamie seemed to be towards the water. He dove straight in, not caring about his shoes or clothes, then he'd smile wide and sigh as if a great big weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

They'd stay for hours, until Emma was sun burnt and John was exhausted.

Jamie, however, would still be energized. When Emma and John where ready to leave, Jamie would stay behind, promising that his mom would be around to pick him up after a while.

Emma hadn't been super comfortable with leaving him there, but watched from her bedroom window when Mrs. Grady drove up a few hours later with Jamie in tow.

So she had to trust the kid.

They were heading down to the beach now, and, though Emma wasn't sure her skin could handle another burn, she was happy to be a part of the boy's excitement.

"Hey, Emma? How much longer until I can drive?" John asked from the back seat. It was the kind of questions her brother always seemed to ask-The 'when can's' and 'how much longer's'.

"About seven years, when you're sixteen." Emma answered as she turned onto the rockier, narrower road leading to the boat house.

"Just like you?"

"Yep, just like me."

"Then I can drive myself to the beach, right? And you won't have to worry about getting red or getting freckles, right?"

Emma laughed. "Right. But I don't mind so much. You guys are fun."

"Thanks again, Emma, for taking us. You're really cool." Jamie said, as he always did when she took them anywhere.

"Sure thing. But, if you don't mind me asking, why doesn't you're cousin take you? Isn't he like…a surfer or something?" Emma was pretty sure she remembered Eric Grady's name from an article on the Key's super surf competition a few months back.

"Uhm…Eric doesn't like going so much anymore." He said, then made another ugly face, making John laugh so hard he began to hiccup.

"You sure about that?" Emma pulled up to the house, noticing the gorgeous Comet in electric blue. "Isn't that your uncle's car? And didn't we just see him when you stopped to get your bathing suit?"

Jamie's deformed face melted until it froze, stunned and pasty. "Oh, no! Stop the car, stop the car, stop the car!"

* * *

It was the second time that day that Eric's breath managed to be knocked clearly out of him. Both times had taken him by surprise, but at least before had been a clean tackle with Bryson there in his face, making sure Eric knew just what was happening.

He didn't know who was above him now, or why it was happening.

But he had a hunch. A pretty big hunch since he was positive that it was a girl lying on top of him.

Hoping, just a little, that he was wrong, Eric opened up one eye and squinted at her.

The room was overwhelmed with light and all he could make out was a silhouette as she lifted her head, making her hair fall around him.

She smelled like the ocean.

"Ariel?" Eric shifted and put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you ok?"

* * *

_Was she ok?!_

_She could barely breathe! She was atop of him and he had his hand on her and-_

_And he smelled like heaven. Like the cooked cheese on bread that Jamie had brought her and the soap she used on her hair._

_Ariel looked down into his illuminated face and nodded. His incredible eyes stared up at her with a crease between his brows, and Ariel realized he must not see her clearly._

_She rolled off of him and onto her knees beside him. "I'm alright." She mouthed._

"_Good." With a grunt he sat up and pressed a hand to his lower back. Reflexively, Ariel followed the motion and pressed her hand there next to his. _

_Her brow puckered and her lips pursed as she looked back to him, asking his question silently._

"_I'm fine. No worries." Eric said, pulling himself up to his feet._

_Ariel followed suit and struggled to her own. When she looked up at him he was glaring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. "Now do you mind telling me just what the heck you're doing in my boat house?"_

* * *

Bryson turned at the sound of tires on gravel then raised his eyebrows when James all but fell out of the slick black four-runner and ran towards where Bryson was stripping down to his suit.

"Hey, Jamie. What are you-"

"Where's Eric?" Jamie interrupted.

"Well, he's inside, putting some things away but-"

"Crap, crap, crap!" Jamie said, taking off towards the house.

"What the heck is going on?" Bryson called after him.

"Hey! Jamie!" Turning back to the car that James tossed himself out of, Bryson watched as a girl and another small boy ran down the drive the where he stood. "What happened?" She asked, shielding her eyes with her hand as she looked up at him.

"No idea. Who are you?" Bryson assessed her. Kinda short, though all girls were pretty short around him. Chestnut brown hair, kinda red in the sun. Pretty eyes. Nice legs. Yeah, he definitely needed to know who she was.

"Emma Rogan." She said, then gestured to her brother who was staring up at him and jerking with the hiccups. "This is John. Jamie's our friend. Who are you?"

"Bryson King. Eric's friend. And Jamie's, normally." Bryson stuffed his clothes into his bag then tossed it into the back seat. "So what's with him?"

"Dunno." Emma said, then headed towards the house to find out.

* * *

Jamie sprinted through the door only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of Eric in his angry stance, glaring. Ariel stood a few feet from him, twisting her hands together.

Eric turned to look at James and after a moment his eyes narrowed, then darkened. "It was you. Wasn't it? You told her to come here."

"She had nowhere else to go Eric. What was I supposed to do?" James said, moving towards Ariel.

"You can't just _toss_ the keys to some random person, Jamie. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that my friend needed help and you were too much of a jerk to see it, that's what!"

"Is why you've been avoiding me? Have you been lying to mom and dad and coming down to the beach every day? Have you been walking here alone?"

"I-"

"No, actually," Eric turned back to the doorway and saw a girl standing there, another boy and Bryson right on her heals. "I've been taking him. I'm Emma Rogan. I live down the street." She stepped further in and looked towards the girl standing next to Jamie-she had nothing on but an orange Kenny Chesney shirt that hung down to her knees and a lovely, flushed face. Her hair was a fantastic strawberry blond and her eyes-woah, where they silver? Man, she was tall, too. Emma had always wanted to be tall.

With a small sigh, Emma looked back at who she assumed was Eric. "I've been taking Jamie and John down here the past few days."

Eric ground his jaw then looked back over at Jamie.

"I never introduced them to Ariel." Jamie said.

"Ariel?" Emma and Bryson said in unison.

"This is Ariel. She's my friend." Jamie announced.

Emma stepped closer. "Ariel. That's a pretty name."

Ariel mouthed, 'Thank you' and her lips shifted into a small, embarrassed smile.

"She's mute. She can't talk but she understands you perfectly fine." Jamie grabbed Ariel's hand and patted it. She smiled sweetly down at him and petted his hair.

Emma had to smile. It was obvious they adored each other.

By then, Bryson had pushed himself inside the house and over to Eric. "Exactly who is she?" He whispered, "And why haven't I met her yet?"

Rolling his eyes, Eric took a step forward. "Ok. Alright. Uh… Ariel and I need to get some things settled so…Bryson, do you mind?"

Not too happy about being dismissed but not about to get in the middle of Eric's issues, Bryson smiled over at Emma. "Have you guys ever surfed?"

* * *

_When Bryson, Emma, Jamie, and the little boy John where out of ear shot, Ariel sat on the futon and placed her hands on her lap and waited as Eric paced back and forth in front of her._

_After a moment he stopped and leaned against the wall, rubbing his arm absently-the same arm he'd hurt during the crash. Ariel wondered if it had healed yet and wished she had paid more attention in medicine studies._

"_Is that all you have to wear?" Eric motioned towards her shirt._

_Ariel blushed deeply and nodded while she pulled at the hem._

_Eric nodded, too. Slowly he squatted down in front of her and caught her eyes with his._

"_I don't want to know why you're here. I don't what to know where you came from, who you know. I don't, so save any urges you may have about to telling me the details. Spare me. Jamie trusts you, it's obvious that ya'll care about one another, and I'm not going to be the one to rip a boy's heart out. But let me just tell you now." He moved closer, so close Ariel's breath caught. He stared at her. One second. Two. Ten seconds. " I will not sit here and let him get hurt again. So I'm asking you now. I'm __**begging **__you. If you think there's any chance of that happening, leave now."_

_When Ariel did nothing but stare back at him he sat back on his hunches and regarded her with a tired expression. "Please don't make me regret this."_

_Ariel nodded slowly, watching Eric carefully and wondering what tragedy this family had been through. _

_Eric stood and walked to the door. "I'll do something about getting you some clothes. I'm sure you're ready to get out of this dump and…explore."_

_As he walked out, Ariel could do nothing but stare down at her hands and feel the bright smile take over her face._

_He was letting her stay!_


	10. Update

Hey guys. Just a little unpdate-I wanted to let everyone know where things are standing.

**1st:**  
Yes, I am still writing and plan to finish "Be It Human". You guys dont have to worry about that. I'm super dedicated.

**Excuse:**  
It's getting on towards the end of school and things, as most of you know, are super hectic. My brain power is just not functioning right now for this story-it's all being used for school which is my main priority, though sometimes I wish it wasn't. Believe me, I'd much rather be posting that studying. So i'm telling you guys now that the next chapter more than likely wont be up until after May 10th (the day of the oh so dreaded AP Biology Exam).

I'm trying to make the next chapter exactly how I want it, which is another reason why it's taking longer. The last few chapters have been fun to write, but they lagged some of the details I had outlined to post.

:) ya'll are the best.

-B


	11. Real Chapter 10

**So sorry for the LONG LONG absence-i hope this makes up for it :B i'm already working on the next chapter so, bear with me please!**

* * *

In an old, decrepit whale, sitting deep beneath the ocean, Ursula lay back in her witch's throne with her eyes sharp and lips pursed.

In front of her, the picture in the cauldron turned hazy, wisps and waves of color floating from it as the magic cleared. Ursula clicked her tongue as she thought over what she just saw.

Ariel was making progress. Too much progress.

The human boy might still be weary of her, but he was getting soft on her looks.

Sure, the lack of voice made it difficult, not to mention comical, but the young boy, James, was making it damn near impossible to keep Eric uninvolved.

Hefting herself out of her seat, Ursula's oily tentacles pushed her through the water as she pondered over her spells.

She needed a Beauty Spell. One that would last at least a week. Her supplies were running a little too low for comfort, and it would take most of the ones left to conjure the spell.

But if her plan worked, she'd be able to get any supplies she needed…once Ariel's voice was hers forever.

* * *

On the old wobbly pier by the boat house, Eric sat with his legs over the edge, letting his toes graze the water as it lifted and fell beneath him. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and now the water reflected the cold silver of the moon.

He was letting her stay.

Eric shook his head, having a hard time recalling why exactly he'd changed his mind.

Then, behind him, Jamie's laugh rang out, and Eric remembered.

She made Jamie happy, made him laugh. And, God, but Eric missed that laugh. How long had it been since he heard it so freely?

The creaking of added weight to the pier had Eric looking over his shoulder. The girl that had been watching Jamie, Emma, carefully made her way over to where he sat and gestured to the space next to him. "Mind if I join you?" She asked.

At Eric's nod, Emma folded her legs beneath her and looked out over the water. For a long moment they sat in companionable silence, watching the silver sea ripple and wink around them.

"I never really understood what was so great about the ocean until we came here with Jamie." Emma said eventually. "When we moved here…it's safe to say I was less than ecstatic." When Eric just looked at her, a crease between his brows, Emma sighed. "I'm in a constant battle with the sun. Delicate skin runs in the family, so I'm destined to be porcelain skinned forever. If I try to defy it and soak up some sun, I turn into a tomato."

Eric said, laughing a little, "So, living here, you either never leave home or deal with everlasting sunburn."

"Exactly…and I was determined to do the former. Then last week Jamie showed up with his big, sad eyes and polite tone. Hell if I didn't want to give him anything he wanted."

"Yeah," Eric sighed. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Anyways, next thing I know, I've got a beach bag stuffed with beach type supplies and I'm herding the boys into my car. Jamie looks so excited that I even start to get excited. We'd barely pulled up to the beach house when he jumped out and flew to the shore." She shook her head, remembering. "Just dove straight in. And when he popped back up he had this amazing smile on his face…I'd known this kid less than a day but there I stood, near tears because he looked _so damned happy_. Just to be in the water…"

_Why did I try and take that away from him?_ Eric thought to himself. _All I've ever wanted was for him to be happy. Why would I keep him away?_

**Because you're scared,** A voice rung in his head**, you're scared of her, of what she's making you both feel.**

He'd have to figure out exactly what all his 'feelings' were later

Now he needed to get Ariel settled…since she was staying.

Eric turned to Emma. "I'm sure you have a bunch of questions about-"

Emma stopped him. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure as soon as _you _figure out what exactly what's going on, you'll fill me in."

Sighing in relief, Eric nodded. "For now could you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Do you think you could find Ariel some clothes? I would but…"

"You're a boy." Emma laughed. "Sure, I can. I'm a little shorter than her but I'm I can come up with a few things. Then there's that discount store downtown. I can take her tomorrow and get the things she still needs."

Feeling a little weight being lifted away from his shoulders, Eric thanked her.

"No problem."

"No, really. Thank you. For this and….for taking care of Jamie when I was…wasn't myself. I know it meant a lot to him. And it meant a lot to me. So, thank you."

"Gee, Grady, you're welcome, you're welcome." Emma said, pushing herself up until she was standing. "Really, are you trying to make me blush?"

Laughing, Eric took the hand Emma offered him and stood up. "Come on, it's getting late. Let's go get them settled."

* * *

_Sitting on the beach house stairs, Ariel watched as Emma pulled Eric up and they began walking down the pier together._

_Closing her eyes, Ariel placed a hand against her aching throat._

_Would she ever be able to sit with him in the moonlight, sharing simple words and laughter?_

_After he'd told her she could stay, Ariel's heart felt like it would burst from joy. She'd jumped to her feet, danced around the tiny room, would have squealed in triumph if her voice was still with her. Then she had run to the door, wanting to find Eric and thank him, to convince him that he would never regret it. That they were meant to be!_

_But as soon as she opened the door, James was there, jumping and dancing with joy much like she just had, yelling "YOU CAN STAY! YOU CAN STAY!", then hugging her so tight she could barely breathe. Ariel hugged him fiercely back, silently thanking him for not giving up on her._

_Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eric sitting at the end of the pier, and though she desperately wanted to go to him, she knew she mustn't. He needed time._

_So she played in the water with Jamie and John, listened to Bryson's jokes (though she didn't understand them), and talked some with Emma…but she was always aware of Eric, just a little ways down the shore from them, looking out to sea as if all the answers would jump out at him if he stared long enough._

_Now watching as he made his way back with Emma, Ariel wondered what would come next._

_

* * *

_

**A long day of searching behind him, King Triton settled deep into his throne and closed his eyes. Now that no one was near, he let his scowl fall away and the pain show on his face.**

_**What have I done? **_**He asked himself.**

**Visions of his youngest daughter filled his every thought to the point to where he was going mad. He woke up every night because of nightmares, his mind creating awful, horrific things that could have happened to her. It had been nearly a week and not one trace of her had been found.**

**Sebastian tried very hard to convince him that she was well, but Triton couldn't find it in himself to believe in such hope.**

**His wife, his lovely Athena, had been fond of humans, too. And it was because of humans that she was taken from him. **

**It had been the hardest thing in his life to accept her loss, to have her gone. So having any lick of hope for his daughter was just like rubbing salt into the hole in his heart.**

**He drove her away, pushed her far too far. Blaming her wasn't something he could do now… she was as stubborn as he, and Triton would be a fool to say he wouldn't have done the same thing.**

**A complete and utter fool…**


	12. Another Update :

I can't apologize enough on how long it's taking me to update "Be it Human.." I will admit that I have been a tad lazy-I just graduated, and am now spending a long vacation in Hawaii with family!

You'll be glad to hear that being here, on the water, in this amazing atmosphere, has definitely made me imagine Ariel and Eric and the others parading around the beach and now I write every day. **  
**I'm hoping to post very soon.

OH!-everyone who's commented, i LOVE hearing about how much you're enjoying the story!**  
**I know Eric is getting on everyones nerves a bit, but again, i'm trying to be realistic-teenage boys are butt-holes. They're rude, arrogant, and think they know everything.**  
**But don't worry, Ariel is going to change that :)**  
**And I hope you guys enjoy the other characters-they're a big part of the story and take after some people i know and love.**  
**Again, i'm sorry, and hope i don't put you off too much longer!

**For now, I need some advice..should I have Ariel and Eric get some alone time while:**

**A. Trapped in an underwater cavern,**

**B. In a hidden tide-pool where Eric catches Ariel 'talking' to the fish,**

**C. Hiding in an abandoned beach shack, getting out of the rain,**

**D. Or after Jamie 'accidently' locks them in the boat house?**

Let me know what you guys think, please!


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